Manhattan Project Park bill moves on

A bill to establish a national park commemorating the Manhattan Project of World War II in Oak Ridge and two other sites is again on its way through the U.S. House and Senate.

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By Donna Smith/Staff

Oakridger - Oak Ridge, TN

By Donna Smith/Staff

Posted Apr. 29, 2013 at 7:49 PM

By Donna Smith/Staff

Posted Apr. 29, 2013 at 7:49 PM

OAK RIDGE

A bill to establish a national park commemorating the Manhattan Project of World War II in Oak Ridge and two other sites is again on its way through the U.S. House and Senate.

On Wednesday, the House Natural Resources Committee unanimously approved the bill to establish a Manhattan Project National Historical Park with facilities in Oak Ridge, Hanford, Wash., and Los Alamos, N.M. It was introduced by Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings, a congressman from Washington state, Congressman Ben Lujan of New Mexico and Congressman Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee. The bill is now eligible for consideration by the full House of Representatives.

“Today the Manhattan Project National Historic Park is one step closer to becoming a reality,” Hastings stated in a news release from the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources. “This has been a long process and I’m grateful to the community leaders and advocates who have worked tirelessly on its behalf. I’m committed to bringing the bill to the House floor this Congress and working with the Senate to get it signed into law. These facilities have an important, interesting, and historic story to tell and this bill would ensure that their doors remain open to visitors for years to come.”

The bill failed to get enough votes in the 2012 legislative session.

Similar legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington state, with Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state, Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall of N.M. co-sponsoring the legislation.

If approved, the Park would be established under the National Park System within a year. The bill requires coordination, planning and cooperation between the Park Service and the Department of Energy — all three sites are already owned by the federal government and under DOE’s purview — to ensure secure, safe access to the locations.

Establishing the Park is supported by DOE, the Park Service, and the U.S. Department of the Interior.